The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an international professional society dedicated to promoting the scientific study of the phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity. The Society’s membership comprises a wide range of people interested in the conservation and study of biological diversity: resource managers, educators, government and private conservation workers, and students make up the more than 6,000 members world-wide. Our mission is to advance the science and practice of conserving Earth’s biological diversity. Our over-arching goal or vision is “a world where people understand, value, and conserve the diversity of life on Earth. We envision SCB, a global community of conservation professionals, as a leading scientific voice for the study and conservation of Earth’s biological diversity.”

The Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group (RCBWG) of the SCB is dedicated to building bridges of information and understanding between religions and conservation. It is the mission of the RCBWG to help form a meaningful synthesis between these two social and cultural forces.

The Religion and Conservation Research Collaborative (RCRC) is a committee of the RCBWG tasked with the goal of investigating, through empirical research, the role of religion in the quest for environmental conservation globally and translating results into policy action. The RCRC also proactively identifies societal problems as pertains to conservation that need policy action and through scientific research findings informs decision making and social change within the purview of religion and conservation.

Animal release–also known as ‘放生’（fàng shéng), the Chinese term for the religious act of releasing captive wildlife as an act of compassion–frequently causes several adverse effects on biodiversity including the spread of invasive species, genetic swamping of wild populations, extreme suffering in the captured and released animals, competition with native species, vulnerability to predation of the released animal, disease spread to natural populations, and human health concerns. Current studies show that the scale and intensity of animal release in several Asian countries is seriously harming many species. To date efforts to curb or change this practice have had very limited effects.

This project is aimed at effecting broad and comprehensive change in this practice in Asia with pilot programs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China to ensure that it no longer causes biological harm.

Duties: Key responsibilities
1. Contribute to planning, budgeting, proposal writing and fundraising for the Animal Release Project.
2. Identify, recruit and coordinate team on the ground if applicable reporting to the Project Director
3. Manage budget and allocate resources.
4. Complete site specific plans and project reports.
5. Coordinate public events and where necessary promote the SCB and collaborators, their mission and project objectives.
6. Develop and deliver presentations as relates to the Animal Release Project where necessary.
7. Conduct project evaluation through surveys to quantify the level of animal release practices before, during and after the project. Surveys will also include the level of use of ‘biodiversity friendly’ animal release practices before and after the project.
8. May involve traveling to various locations within the pilot country.
9. Other duties as required.

Qualifications: We seek someone from either of Hong Kong and China with background knowledge and interest in animal release, experience in managing projects, strong communication and interpersonal skills and a mastery of the local language plus fluency in writing and speaking English. Leadership, high motivation, self determination and responsibility are imperative. Fundraising skills are highly desirable. A Bachelors Degree in a relevant field is required; a Master’s Degree is desirable.

Salary: A monthly salary of $2,000 on a part-time basis is estimated. However note that this remuneration is based on the outcome of our fundraising efforts.

Contact: Submit a letter of motivation, CV and two reference letters all written in English to sawoyemi@gmail.com with the subject: ‘Project Officer Hong Kong’ or ‘Project Officer China’ as applicable.